Boiler flue blower



Feb. 7, 1939. v l F,'w. LVINDEMANN, JR 2,146,546

BOI LER FLUE BLOWER Filed sept. 27', 1957 oooooo Patented Feb. 7, 1939 UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE l BoILER FLUE BLOWER l Frederick W. Lindemann, Jr., St.` APaul, Minn. Application september 27, 1937, sei-iai No. 165,911

This invention' relates-to devices for cleaning boiler iiues and similar devices with steam. Generally an object of the invention is to pro- Vide means for inserting a steam pipe through 535i an aperture in the door Vor other part ori a boiler'casing opposite the open. ends of the boiler flues' and also providing means whereby the exact position 'of the steam pipe within the casing can H be determined on the outside of the casing. lo Another object of the invention is to providea boiler flue cleaning device which can be arranged so that the exterior indicator can be made to show theI positions of the boiler flue Vends in each i individual boiler to which the rdevice is attached.

liA A'fur'ther object of the invention isyto provide l simplyfconstructed and easily attached means for supporting the main portion of the cleanerV exteriorly of the` casing and for simultaneously M rigidlyr securing afclosurefor the aperture in the LJ door so. that products of combustion cannot escape through the aperture when the device is riot in use-; n Y

Still ,aiuifther object is` to provide improved 1 means for .providing substantially universal 2251 movement of the steam pipe supporting element so thatsaid-elementmay `be easily manipulated, but is at thesame time strongly built and cornpactly arranged.

These and other objects and advantages ofthe 3o invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like referencel characters refer to the same o-r similar partsl throughout the various views, and in whichz-`- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my device showing parts of the boiler flues and a portion of the smoke box door in vertical section;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation with the steam pipe removed and the device mounted on a portion ci' 40 the boiler casing, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the embodiment of my invention shown'in the drawing, the device includes a base or body 45 structure 4 having an enlarged aperture 5 `in its lower portion. At the upper and lower portions of the opening 5 there are provided substantially U-shaped journal elements 6 and l which, as shown in Fig. l., extend rearwardly of the body i '50 and serve to space the body from a portion of any type of boiler casing 8. Itis customary in mounting boiler flue cleaners to secure them to the smoke box doors of the boiler. The journals 6 and v'l are adapted to receive pin-like extensions 56 from the top and bottom of the yoke element 3 to is Claims. (ol. 122-391) pivotally support said yoke in said journals. The yoke is open through its vcentral portion and, as best shown in Fig. 3,5 said yoke is provided rearwardly of its horizontal center with apair of lugs Il] and Il which accommodate a pivot pinv I2 5 which pivotally supports a substantially cylindrical hollow steam pipe receiving and positioning element I3. Thus it will beseen that the steam pipe supporting element in: conjunction with the yoke 9 is mounted for substantially universal 1o pivotal movement.

The body 4 is rigidly secured to the boiler casing 8 by means of a pair of bolts I4 which extend through said body and said casing 8 and also through brackets I5 on the inner side of the casl5 ing; said brackets being provided with substantially semi-circular bends I6 at their upper ends to hingedly support aV cover member I1 for normally closing the aperture I8 through the boiler Casing 8, It will be noted thatwhen the door I1 20 is inv its closed position, as indicated in Fig. 3, the steam pipe support I3 and the yoke element 9 lie substantially exteriorly of said closure I1 so that the casingV may be substantially tightly closed. With the above described'securing ar- 25 rangement, itisclear thatthe entire assembly can be attached to a boiler casing through the use of only two bolts and added rigidity is given to the structure through the medium of rearwardly extending boiler casing contacting journais 6 and 1, and also through the provision of lug elements I9 and 2li through which the retaining bolts I4 extend. These lugs are spaced rearwardly of the body 4 the same distance as the journals 6 and 1. 35

Mounted on the body 4 and above the yoke and steam pipe support is a sheet of metal 2I whose lateral edges are secured to the sides of the body by means of suitable bolts 22.y The metal sheet A in the particular embodiment illustrated is curved to present a convex exterior surface winch serves as an indicating device for determining the exact position of the steam pipe support I3 with respect to its axial alignment with the open end of one of the boiler iiues 23, an arrangement which will be brought forth in more detail below. The indicator may have its upper and lower portions closed by means of suitable end plates 24 and 2 5.

The outer end of the steam pipe support I3 is provided with laterally projecting oppositely disposed pin elements 26 which pivotally support an indicator arm 21. This arm 21 extends upwardly and terminates in a forked end 28 which is adapted to bear against the convex surface of the indicator plate 2l, and a helical tension spring 29 55 has its ends connected between the steam pipe support I3 and the indicator arm 21, as shown in Fig. l, to hold said indicator arm in frictional engagement with the plate 2l.

When the assembly is secured to a boiler casing opposite the open ends of a plurality of boiler lues 23, a steam pipe 3U is inserted in the support I3 and pushed inwardly until the end of the pipe registers in the end of one of the boiler ues. When a boiler flue end is thus located, an opening 2m is then drilled or punched through the indicator plate 2I between the arms of the forked upper end of the indicator rod 21. rThis operation is repeated until all of the boiler flue ends have been located and their relative position indicated by the openings in the plate 2l. Thus, on a single indicating plate, both the Vertical and horizontal positions of each flue end is clearly shown. If desired, the upper end of the indicator rod 21 may be provided with an eye rather than a fork so that a pin may be inserted through the end of said arm. and through one of the openings 2Ia in the plate 2| so that the steam pipe support and the steam pipe held thereby may be retained in position to direct steam into the open end of any one of the boiler lues.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a relatively simply constructed, highly eiiicient and easily installed device for permitting the cleaning of boiler lues by blowing steam through said flues. In conjunction with this device I have provided a steam pipe ,position indicator which eliminates any guess work in locating the ends of the flues aiter the device has once been installed and the individual positions of the nues have been marked upon the indicator plate 2|. The steam pipe holder I3 is readily movable to any desired position with respect to the ends of the, ilues and the indicator rod Z1 is in constant indicating position so that the user can at any time determine to which boiler flue the steam pipe is directed. Furthermore the only moving part of my device which is inside the casing and subject to the deteriorating action of the gases within the boiler is the door I1 which closes the aperture I8 when the flue blower is not in operation. Otherwise all moving parts are normally protected against the injurious effect of products of combustion within the smoke box.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed iszl. In a boiler flue blower and the like, a body secured exteriorly of said boiler, a freely movable yoke pivotally supported by said body, a freely movable steam pipe support pivotally mounted in said yoke on an axis normal to the pivotal axis of said yoke, an indicator plate mounted on said 15 body adjacent said yoke, a laterally rigid, substantially vertically positioned indicator arm pivotally supported for movement in a plane normal to the face of said plate by said steam. pipe support and having an end in frictional Contact with the surface ci said indicator plate whereby markings may be made upon said indicator plate to show the vertical and horizontal location of said steam pipe support relative to the ends of the lues of a boiler.

2. The structure in claim 1, and said yoke being pivotally supported in journals constituting portions of said body, said journals extending rearwardly of said body to space the body from said casing and permit free oscillation of said yoke.

3. In a boiler flue blower and the like, a substantially cylindrical steam pipe support adapted to slidably receive the end of a steam pipe and being mounted for substantially universal movement, an indicator plate mounted adjacent said steam pipe support and having openings therein corresponding to the vertical and horizontal l0- cation of the ends of the flues in said boiler, and an indicator arm pivotally mounted upon said steam pipe support and adapted to Contact said indicator plate, and a spring connection between said Asteam pipe support and said indicator arm whereby said arm Vwill be held in yielding frictional engagement with said indicator plate at its free end.

FREDERICK W. LINDEMANN, JR. 

